Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev, what does this fight mean for boxing

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev, what does this fight mean for boxing

Re: Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev, what does this fight mean for boxing

It means a few different important things.

1. a living legend who continues to defy the odds at 49 just double downed and sought out his toughest opponent possible making younger champions look like terrified school girls as they find ways out of the best fights available.

2. legacy is more important than money. Hopkins conducts himself with humility and dignity as he tries to solidify his legacy as a all time great and at 49 years old at that.

3. The cold war is crumbling, this is a win for fans and fighters alike, more so fans.

4. the fans are appreciated and feel as if they matter, hopkins and kovalev are giving the fans what they want , what they crave, the two best at the division, AD is inferior to both fighters in many of opinion.

5. Oscar and gbp along with Duva have stepped up and done what has been needed for a few years now, what once begins will follow with continued matchups fans have been waiting for.

6. The shadow Al Haymon got outsmarted and outworked, this is good, fighters will see this and hope to refrain from giving him all the power to control their careers and disgruntled the fans by, well controlling their careers

7. Floyd Mayweather may bomb his next ppv, due to cooperating promotional companies who will put together more lucrative and exciting events which could compete with Floyds and have him fair subpar, possibly forcing him to fight bigger and more dangerous names he has failed to do so thus far..

Re: Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev, what does this fight mean for boxing

I agree with you Amayseng. There are few other things that this fight means to me:

1. Even if he loses, it could validate the hype surrounding Kovalev

2. In one way or another, it will shake up at least two weight divisions.

3. If Kovalev wins, I think the calls for him to fight Ward or Froch will become loud.

4. The fact that it is already signed puts a bad light on Stevenson.

5. Lastly, I believe if Hop wins, he breaks out of that jumbled group of Manny, Marquez, Klitchko, Cotto and few others as the second best fighter of the last 15 years. I think his spot behind Mayweather (and not far) is firmly entrenched. If he wins he will have beaten in the last 15 years, an ok Trinidad, De La Hoya, Tarver, Winky, Pavlik Pascal, Cloud, Joppy, and Kovalev, all of whom were at least good fighters at the time of their bout. You can also add real close fights with Taylor & Calzaghe. No one has a resume that reads like that.

Re: Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev, what does this fight mean for boxing

Originally Posted by amayseng

It means a few different important things.

1. a living legend who continues to defy the odds at 49 just double downed and sought out his toughest opponent possible making younger champions look like terrified school girls as they find ways out of the best fights available.

2. legacy is more important than money. Hopkins conducts himself with humility and dignity as he tries to solidify his legacy as a all time great and at 49 years old at that.

3. The cold war is crumbling, this is a win for fans and fighters alike, more so fans.

4. the fans are appreciated and feel as if they matter, hopkins and kovalev are giving the fans what they want , what they crave, the two best at the division, AD is inferior to both fighters in many of opinion.

5. Oscar and gbp along with Duva have stepped up and done what has been needed for a few years now, what once begins will follow with continued matchups fans have been waiting for.

6. The shadow Al Haymon got outsmarted and outworked, this is good, fighters will see this and hope to refrain from giving him all the power to control their careers and disgruntled the fans by, well controlling their careers

7. Floyd Mayweather may bomb his next ppv, due to cooperating promotional companies who will put together more lucrative and exciting events which could compete with Floyds and have him fair subpar, possibly forcing him to fight bigger and more dangerous names he has failed to do so thus far..

This fight means a lot to the sport. The are so many underlying tones and potential long lasting impact from this fight getting done.

First, its a good intriguing fight between probably the two best light heavyweights in the world. One is an up and coming destroyer who many think will be a star in this sport. The other is a 49 year old champion who continues to fight at a high level and historically defy the odds. Can Hopkins do it once again and reign on top a deep division nearing the age of 50?

It also sets a good precedent of a fighter seeking to enhance his legacy by taking on the much more difficult challenge instead of an easier fight for bigger money. Hopkins is setting an example for others to follow.

But there are more political impacts on this fight getting done than any other fight in recent memory.

This does signify a thawing in the Golden Boy/HBO relationship. This is very important. This opens the door to other Golden Boy fighters to appear on HBO in the future as long as they are not aligned with Al Haymon (more on him later). Remember, there were two versions of the Cold War. One was Golden Boy vs Top Rank and the other was HBO vs Golden Boy. Now part of the HBO/Golden Boy relationship is thawing.

As for Haymon, he was out maneuvered here. There were rumors he was holding things up in the Stevenson negotiations to get Hopkins stripped by the IBF which had a Friday deadline. Thus, allowing the top two fighters in the IBF rankings to face off for that belt. Follow me here for a second...the top ranked IBF fighter is Nadjib Mohammedi. On Friday, Gabreil Campillo fought Thomas Williams Jr. for that 2nd slot in the rankings. It was a fight orchestrated by Haymon in which his fighter Williams was heavily favored. Haymon figured Williams to win and get the shot at the vacant title (which Hopkins may have been forced to do if he didn't reach an agreement Friday and wanted to face wither Stevenson or Kovalev). Ironically in all this, Williams was surprisingly upset on Friday.

Think about this too...Haymon has a lot of fighters. He was trying to maneuver one of his fighters into a title fight while still securing a big money fight for his other guy in the same division. By stalling and allowing Hopkins to seek other options before closing a deal, Haymon just cost Stevenson a big fight for big money and will have to force him to accept something less lucrative. Now don't think other fighters did not take notice here. It could have an impact on Haymon signing more fighters in the future.

Finally, HBO is still sending a strong message to Haymon that they will not be associated with him and will work to undermine him. Again, don't think other fighters have not taken notice. HBO still has by far largest boxing budget.

This also may put pressure now to make the Floyd undercard very big to steal back some thunder that was lost and to try to ensure that the event is not a PPV bomb. It could result in seeing a Garcia-Matthysse like fight added as the co-feature (Santa Cruz-Rigondeaux?)

The Kovalev-Hopkins fight is very significant in so many different ways for this sport.